A Curious Mind

February 16, 2015
In this lively, though somewhat misconceived work, film and TV producer Grazer, of Imagine Entertainment (24, A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13) credits curiosity for driving his life and career. “More than intelligence or persistence or connections, curiosity has allowed me to live the life I wanted,” he claims. Discussing his decades in Hollywood, he portrays himself as a man of ambition, luck, and chutzpah, getting by on determination and opportune moments, taking advantage of open windows and chance meetings. Indeed, one of his defining milestones—meeting his longtime business partner, director Ron Howard—comes from such a bold move. As Grazer further explores how curiosity has shaped his life, he sprinkles in numerous anecdotes about the hundreds of people whom he’s sought out for one-on-one sessions he terms “curiosity conversations.” They include Jonas Salk, Eminem, Condoleezza Rice, and Isaac Asimov. But as he states, “I didn’t want to write a book about all the people I’d had conversations with—I wanted to write about the impulse to have those conversations.” Readers, having had their own curiosity prompted, may be frustrated that Grazer leaves relatively little space for describing his many encounters with fascinating people, in favor of emphasizing his personal musings. Agent: Simon Green, Creative Artists Agency.